Hey lovelies! Thank you for the love so far! I'm enjoying writing this story... It's deffo gonna be a slow burner, long story but hopefully you'll all enjoy the ride! Anyway, enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think!
Chapter 3
Quinn had only really intended to stay one night. But then somehow that turned into two nights. And now here they were on Sunday morning and she was still at the Berry residence. She blamed the fact that the bed in the guest room was extremely comfortable and she hadn't had a good night sleep in a couple months now. She was still in bed, enjoying what could be her last night of comfort. After all, Rachel's dads would be back that evening and they had school in the morning and she really didn't want to outstay her welcome.
She could hear Rachel's elliptical machine whirring from the brunettes bedroom. Apparently that girl was up at the crack of dawn every morning to exercise. It made sense. Rachel did have a great pair of legs. Quinn groaned at her inner thoughts. The baby she was growing was making her crazy, clearly. Since when had she looked at Berry's legs? Her thoughts didn't stick around long though, as she felt a wave of nausea pass over her. She knew the past few days without any morning sickness had been too good to be true. She'd been thinking that maybe now she was getting further into her pregnancy, it had calmed down but apparently this morning it had come back to bite her in the ass. She rolled out of bed, and just about made it to the toilet in the en-suite in time to hurl up the remains of last night's dinner. It had barely been a few seconds before she felt her hair gently being pulled out of her face and a small comforting hand rubbing her back.
Rachel had come in as soon as she heard the sound of Quinn being sick. She wasn't worried about cutting her work out short. All she was worried about was Quinn. Of course, she knew that being sick was a regular side effect that came with pregnancy so there was no real concern, but she knew she liked someone there for her when she felt unwell and she only hoped Quinn didn't mind. The blonde seemed to have nothing left to bring up and slumped against the toilet bowl. She looked tired. Growing a human could do that, to you. "Let's get you back to bed, sweetie." Rachel whispered, helping Quinn off the floor and practically tucking her back into the bed.
For Quinn, it was a strange sensation. Of course she'd been sick before… after all she was well into her second trimester now. However, not once had she had someone come and comfort her whilst she went through it. Even when Finn thought the baby was his, he kind of just hung awkwardly at the door until she was done. Suddenly, a huge wave of guilt came over her. She'd been awful to Rachel and here was that very same girl, looking after her when she was at her lowest when she had no obligation to. Sure, she revealed Quinn's secret but that had to happen eventually anyway. She owed her nothing and yet here she was. She didn't even realise she was crying until she felt small but strong arms around her and she heard "Shh, you're okay Quinn." It was just that the weight she'd been carrying on her shoulders for the past few months had suddenly crashing down around her. Maybe it was the act of somebody just physically caring for her mixed with the hormones that had triggered this reaction? Whatever it was, she couldn't stop it for a good ten minutes. And Rachel just stayed there… holding her and swaying gently. At some point she'd starting humming… it was the tune to Wouldn't It Be Lovely. As Quinn's tears subsided, the sound of Rachel's voice became clearer until eventually she was calm.
Rachel held Quinn for a few moments longer after she'd calmed down. Honestly, this wasn't surprising. Imagine being a sixteen year old, pregnant and with no home to call her own. Completely unsure of the future. It was a lot to deal with. Her heart was aching for Quinn and she just wanted to make everything better. Maybe it was a strange way to feel, considering this was the girl who had bullied her since they started high school. But she'd always admired Quinn in a way. She was beautiful and talented… Rachel would have done anything to be her friend. And maybe now was that time.
Unwillingly, Rachel removed herself from Quinn and got up to head out the bedroom and back to her work out. She figured Quinn was probably still in need of some rest. Before she left, she turned back to look at the fragile blonde, who somehow still looked angelic despite being completely drained and tucked in bed. "You should stay, Quinn. My dads will be more than happy to let you stay, I'm sure. And you'll be a lot more comfortable here than you will at Noah's." she shrugged. "Think about it."
And with that, Rachel was gone and Quinn was left behind completely bemused as to what had just happened. She'd broken down, been held by Rachel and maybe didn't hate it and now that very same girl was offering her a place to stay for a long as she needed. She was torn between just wanting to give into the help she was being offered and just running as far away as she possibly could. It was completely exhausting… to the point that Quinn drifted back off to sleep.
Rachel had gone about her Sunday morning as usual after the little altercation with Quinn in the morning. She'd finished her exercise, showered and done her extensive skin care routine and was going through some Glee harmonies for Sectionals quietly downstairs. She didn't want to disturb Quinn from her slumber and so wasn't belting as she normally maybe would have. Her dads were due home soon, and she'd been texting them back and forth over the course of the weekend and they were well aware of the situation. Thankfully, her dads cared a lot about humans in general. And they cared especially about Rachel's happiness. And any friend of Rachel's was instantly welcomed in by them… not that she'd had a lot of that in the past. But now, maybe she did. They'd already told her that Quinn could stay as long as she needed to. They were horrified but not surprised at the actions of Russell Fabray and truly felt for the girl. Rachel felt lucky to have them as her parents. Though, she wondered how they might have reacted had it been her who fell pregnant at such a young age.
Rachel was drawn from her thoughts by the sound of keys in the front door. Her fathers, Hiram and Leroy came in chatting among themselves with all their bags… more than they left with. Not unusual. It was rare that they didn't return from a family gathering with tupperwares full of goodness. Her mouth was already watering at the idea of the latkes. "Hey, little star," her dad, Hiram greeted as Rachel got up to give them both a massive hug. They both enveloped her in their arms. Rachel loved her dads a lot, and felt so blessed that they were so loving, open and accepting. They always put her happiness first, plus they really trusted her.
"How was your weekend? Is Quinn still here?" Leroy asked as he took some of the bags into the kitchen with Rachel following behind him. Rachel nodded, eagerly eye-balling the goodies he'd brought back. "Yeah, she had a bit of a rough morning and was sick… she's sleeping. I asked her to think about staying. I just can't justify her going and struggling at Noah's when we have more than enough space here and you and Dad are happy to have her stay." she sighed. Hiram nodded in agreement, "You're totally right, Rachel. Sarah just doesn't have the space, and I doubt Quinn would get much peace with Samantha running around. She can stay here as long as she needs." he gave his daughter a warm smile and she beamed back at him. A lot of people weren't aware that Rachel and Puck had grown up in the same synagogue. There was only one synagogue in town and a very small Jewish population so it was no surprise really. Her dads and Puck's mom had always gotten along, but what with Puck getting quite popular and Rachel… well, she was on the other end of the scale, they didn't really cross paths much any more. Neither families were very regular at the synagogue these days and that probably would have been the only time they'd mingle. Until now, anyway.
Leroy was busy bustling about the kitchen, warming up leftovers for everybody. There was a mixture of vegan friendly foods as well as regular foods. "Sweetie, why don't you look in on Quinn and see if she wants some lunch? If she's going to be staying with us, she may as well get acquainted with us." he shrugged matter-of-factly. Rachel knew he was right. Okay, so maybe Quinn hadn't given her a straight answer yet about staying there but Rachel wasn't sure she was in a position to say no. She crept up the stairs and to the guest bedroom where Quinn was still fast asleep. Rachel peeked her nose through the door and couldn't help but smile at the perfect sight before her. Even with her messy hair and a slight drop of drool coming from her mouth, Quinn was still the prettiest girl she'd ever met. She noticed an arm was protectively draped across her stomach and Rachel's heart clenched just a little. The blonde looked so angelic and for once, so peaceful… she almost didn't want to wake her.
Rachel pulled herself together. It was probably weird to stare at people sleeping, and she'd caught herself staring a moment too long. She shuffled over to sit on the edge of the bed and gently brushed some of Quinn's hair out of her face, "Quinn?" she whispered. The blonde stirred gently at the touch, but didn't fully wake. Rachel chuckled, she thought it was adorable how her nose scrunched up at her slumber being potentially interpreted. "Quiiiinn," Rachel sing songed, adding a little volume to her voice this time.
The pregnant teen groaned, she didn't want to wake up any time soon. She was quite content in her safe little cocoon that was the duvet. In this duvet, she didn't have to face reality. But she knew she couldn't stay there forever, "You know you should never wake a lady from her beauty sleep, Berry…" she mumbled into her pillow. Rachel quickly came back to her with, "You don't need it." Once she realised what she said, she felt her face grow warm and quickly stood up from the edge of the bed before Quinn realised. But Quinn did realise, and raised a brow at the girl's comment. For some reason, it made her feel a bit warm on the inside. Sure, people called her pretty all the time… but beautiful was another story completely. She put her reaction down to the hormones and slowly sat up, looking over at Rachel expectantly. She must have had reason to come and wake her up. "My dads are back… and they want you to join us for lunch." Rachel said, and Quinn gulped. She supposed there was no escape and so simply nodded and got herself out of bed. It was now or never, she guessed.
And there you have it! I hope you liked seeing a more vulnerable Quinn as well and Rachel's dads coming into the picture? Leave a review and let me know!
I have a busy few days coming up so there probably won't be an update until mid next week?
Stay safe everybody!
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